


Induction

by heatgeneratingtechniques



Category: Rhett & Link
Genre: Anxiety, Cunnilingus, Drunken Confessions, F/F, Useless Lesbians, WHAT MORE DO YOU NEED, lesbian rhink
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-04-21
Updated: 2019-04-21
Packaged: 2020-01-23 10:21:40
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,492
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18547849
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/heatgeneratingtechniques/pseuds/heatgeneratingtechniques
Summary: It's not until college graduation, when they leave Harnett County for good, that Rhett starts thinking she might lose her best friend.(in which they are not entirely useless)





	Induction

**Author's Note:**

> wrote most of this on my phone at 5 am, let me live

It's not until college graduation, when they leave Harnett County behind for good, that Rhett starts thinking she might lose her best friend.

When she’s being honest with herself, there’s no logical reason this would be the case. They've known each other since first grade, their friendship deepening through the years of family shuffles, school drama, wondering why anyone would date boys. Realizing late in high school that they couldn't take their eyes off girls instead.

It had been Lorhetta and Linkita, now it’s Rhett and Link. Rhett likes how that flows off the tongue.  _ Rhettandlink. _ They’re almost always referred to in tandem, to the point that Rhett feels a little off when someone only says her name.

In college, Link gives herself a buzzcut. Rhett gets back to their apartment after class one evening and finds her sweeping up long dark hair in the bathroom. She stops when she sees Rhett, fists curled around the broom in front of her, like she's bracing for something bad.

There’s nothing to distract Rhett from her bright eyes now, sharp behind the glasses she’s recently been prescribed.

All Rhett can say is, “Hey, you look hot.”

And Link mumbles, “Thanks,” and goes back to sweeping, but Rhett catches that her ears have gone red.

(Rhett almost,  _ almost _ follows suit with the haircut, but ends up leaving her hair longer on top. She’s convinced that her head would look weird without hair.)

It's been like that for both of them. Going to extremes to find new experiences in college, finding security in their friendship no matter what.

After college graduation, they move to Durham, into a house shared with two other queer friends. The place is old and drafty, with a wraparound porch and creaky floorboards. None of them can afford a car yet, so they ride their bikes everywhere. It's not the big city experience that Rhett's dreamed of, but she'll take it for now. At least Link’s still here.

But Link's been so  _ quiet _ since graduation. Distant, even. She lets her hair grow out over her ears, where it curls slightly. Rhett can’t stop thinking about twining it around her fingers.

She never says that aloud, though. Not to anyone. It seems wrong somehow, to risk a lifetime of trust solely because she wants to kiss her best friend.

And they’re too busy to talk these days anyway. Working multiple jobs, shuffling schedules every week. And it’s an unreasonable thought born of anxiety, but Rhett’s seized with the thought that all of this might end soon. She and Link had promised each other once that they’d do something big together, but here they are, regularly pulling twelve hour shifts and falling asleep on the couch on their rare days off.  


She finally works up the courage to tell Link this one night. They're on the roof, a bottle of whiskey between them. Link’s brought it as a gift, she says, an apology for not having time to talk much.

They take turns drinking as they look out over the neighborhood. It’s warm and quiet here; the constant rushing of highway traffic is faint at this hour.

“Why do you think I wanna leave?” Link asks.

“Because.” Maybe it’s the alcohol, but Rhett's mouth isn't working properly. "You've been quiet."

“Been thinking.”

Rhett glances over. Traces the sharp lines of her face and glasses with her eyes.

"How's it going?" she asks.

"What, thinking?" Link grins, wraps her hand around the neck of one bottle and takes a massive swig that makes her entire face screw up like it always does. It's cute. Rhett thinks it's really cute. She’s gotten to the point of thinking that almost everything Link does is cute without immediately getting distracted by the fact.

She shrugs now. "Anything, man. We've been busy. Tell me about life."

"Well." Link leans back on her hands, letting her legs splay out in front of her. She's barefoot tonight, like she always is at home. Wearing a tank top she'd swiped from an ex, and shorts that definitely belonged to Rhett.

Not wearing a bra, but Rhett's used to that, too.

"Well," she says again. "Things are going well with CJ. They're gonna visit next week, did I tell you that? Gonna stay for two weeks."

Rhett nods. CJ’s in grad school in Chicago, busy and poor enough that they don't get to see Link much. Link talks about CJ moving in when they finish grad school, but for now, they’re apart.

"Hannah and I broke up, though."

Rhett's heart clenches. "You didn't tell me that."

Link glances at her, looks away just as quickly. "Wasn't gonna work out."

She's looking distant again. Rhett scoots closer, her shorts scraping across the roof's shingles.

“Sorry to hear, man.”

Link makes a dismissive sound. “’s alright.” She moves the bottle out of the way and lays back with one hand behind her head. Takes off her glasses and rubs her eyes.

"How are things with you, Rhett? Talk to me."

"Quit bartending last week. Now I only have to worry about two jobs."

"You lucky punk." There's a smile in Link's voice. "How's your love life? Jess ain’t leave you yet?"

It’s not the question that irks Rhett, more so the fact that Link asks without warning. "Why do you gotta put it like that, man?" 

"What? I told you about  _ my _ love life."

"I didn't  _ ask _ about yours," Rhett snaps. "I asked about you."

"And I asked about you, Rhett." Link makes a frustrated sound. "Sometimes you get closed off, you stop talking to me and I wonder, y'know? I wonder if I’ve done something wrong."

Rhett's not sure what to say to that. “I’m great,” he mumbles. “Jess and me are great.”

"Good," Link continues more lightly, "And to answer your question, I'm great, too." She gestures down at herself. "Look at this hot stuff and tell me I'm not."

Rhett's used to her teasing but at times like these, when she's drowsy and a little tipsy, that she's really fucking glad it's dark enough to hide her blush.

It's quiet for a bit. They drink some more.

"Are you looking," Link says.

Rhett's attention snaps back to her. "What?" Her voice cracks.

"What?" Link mimics, laughter spilling from her so sweet and easy that it makes Rhett hurt a little. "I want you to look at me and tell me I'm great, man."

Rhett's eyes trace the lines of her body. She knows it well. They've shared beds many times growing up, but only ever as friends.

"You're great," she rasps.

The bottle's empty.

Link laughs again, teeth flashing in the faint glow of the nearby streetlight.

"That's all you got to say, Rhett?"

"What do you want me to say?” Annoyance flares at the back of Rhett’s mind. She’s never sure what to make of Link when she starts teasing like this. “You're great. My best friend. The fucking salt of the earth. We've been through so much together, and I thank fuck every day that we're still best friends. But sometimes I wonder—" Rhett breaks off, biting down on the inside of her cheek.

"Wonder what?"

The only reason she keeps going is because it's dark. It feels safer to admit the truth when she can't be seen.

Plus, she's drunk so fuck it.

"Wonder about kissing you."

It's quiet for so long that Rhett starts to lose her nerve. Starts edging away towards the window back inside to her bedroom.

Link grabs her wrist.

"Stay."

In her mind, Rhett can see the hard line of Link's mouth, the sharpness of her eyes.

"You don't gotta wonder that, Rhett," she says. "You can kiss me if you want."

And Rhett does. So she does.

Link traces the line of her use with one hand, a feather's touch, as their lips meet. Every fiber of Rhett's being goes quiet, like this kiss is the pinnacle of their focus. Link tastes hot and sour and sweet and—

Link makes a small sound into Rhett's mouth, and she knows she's a goner.

Then they're inches apart, breathing heavily.

Link huffs out a laugh.

"Ten years," she says.

"What." Rhett doesn't dare speak above a whisper, not wanting to break the spell of whatever it is.

"Been wanting to kiss you for ten years."

Rhett scoffs. "So why didn't—"

Link lunges forward and kisses Rhett so fiercely that for one terrifying second, she's scared she'll fall off the roof.

"Bed," Rhett gasps out when she can speak again. "My bed. Please."

Link’s already tugging her towards the window. Getting back through it is a challenge now that they're both a little unsteady. Rhett's t-shirt snags on the windowsill so she yanks it off. Then Link's on her, driving them both back to Rhett’s bed where they collapse in a tangle of long limbs.

They stay like that for a while, adjusting to how it feels to be so close. Link starts plucking at Rhett's bra.

"You good?"

Rhett nods.

Now that they're in bed, it feels safe enough to take their time. Link takes off her glasses and leaves them folded on the nightstand. They kiss more slowly now. Rhett works up the courage to push up her shirt, letting her hand glide over flesh she's wanted to touch for so long. And Link exhales so slowly and shakily that it makes her hot all over.

And they've been best friends for so long, shared so much about themselves, that Rhett knows what she likes. Knows that pressing her teeth into the crook of her neck makes Link suck in air through her teeth. Knows that pinching a nipple makes Link  _ whine _ .

She knows all of this, she's heard Link describe it before, but there's something electric about being allowed to experience this first hand, being the one to make Link writhe beneath her, when she finally works up the courage to cup her hand between Link's legs.

"Please." It's all Link’s been saying, but now her voice pitches upward, her hips rolling against Rhett's hand. "Please, Rhett,  _ please. _ "

When Rhett gets her hands in Link's shorts, that's when she finds that Link's not wearing underwear at all. Link hisses when Rhett gets a finger in her.

For a moment, she can’t move. She’s pictured this happening, a thousand times and a thousand ways. But it’s  _ now _ and Link’s gasping and clutching at her and it’s all so much. There are so many ways that this could go wrong that it makes her a little dizzy.

“You okay,” Link breathes.

"You're so wet," is all Rhett can say.

"Course I am." Link's fingers tighten on Rhett’s shoulder. “You gonna finger me or what... oh...”

Rhett knows she's vocal. Holy shit, she knows. But it's one thing to hear her moan in another room late at night, and quite another to feel the heat of her gasps as her fingers circle Link's clit.

"I wanna—" Rhett stops herself again.

"What?" Link's breathing hot and heavy, her eyes half-closed.

"Wanna eat you out."

"Shit," Link whispers almost reverently. "Yeah. Okay."

She lifts her hips so Rhett can get her shorts off. Lifts her legs so Rhett can settle herself on her knees by the edge of the bed, then crosses her ankles right between her shoulder blades.

When Rhett licks into her, she makes a strangled sound that Rhett will never forget.

She swirls her tongue around her, dizzy with the intensity of it all. Link tastes sweet and good and velvety soft. It's perfect and unbelievable that she'd let Rhett do this, but Rhett's not about to stop. She sucks at Link's clit, tongue flicking over it each time.

Rhett looks up once and sees her clutching at herself, hands running through her hair, her mouth, her breasts, her stomach and back again, body rolling with each motion of Rhett's tongue. The longer Rhett goes, the faster and louder Link gets, until there's a cry of,  _ oh Rhett!  _ and Link's body stiffens, her clit throbbing in Rhett’s mouth. She keeps at it until Link weakly begs her to stop.

Rhett stretches out alongside her on the bed. They’re quiet for a bit.

“Ten years?” she asks.

Link’s eyes are closed, but one corner of her mouth curls upwards. “Give or take a few.”

Rhett laughs. “That’s nothing.”

She turns her head. “What?”

“I’ve wanted to kiss you for twice as long as that.” Rhett’s grinning widely now.

“Oh, shut  _ up. _ ” Link digs her knuckles sharply into Rhett’s side, hard enough to make her yelp. Then they’re both grappling with each other like they used to in college, only now it’s okay for Rhett to kiss her when she gets Link’s wrists pinned over her head.

"My turn?" Link asks.

Rhett says  _ yeah  _ about thirty times in response to that. She’s pretty sure she sets a new record for disrobing.

Link gets her to lie back, then spreads her open with one hand. She gets to work with a speed that leaves Rhett breathless. She throws her head back, clutching the sheets with one hand and the back of Link's head with the other. It’s her turn to beg and plead, her voice growing more strident when Link slows to an excruciating pace.

Rhett might have lasted for ten minutes or an hour or an entire day. She has no sense of anything but Link's mouth on her, tongue moving in firm, deliberate strokes. Then Link dips her tongue  _ into _ her, and Rhett's thighs twitch. Link presses her down and does it again.

Normally, Rhett's not a loud person. She's big and tall, compensates by being quiet, even in bed. But it's impossible to stay quiet now. She's desperately covering her mouth with a hand, stuffing her pillow into her mouth, writhing beneath Link's steady motions.

It's so much. So good.

She can feel the heat building with the pressure on her clit. Link's back to sucking on her now, as steady as ever. Rhett's twisting beneath her, clutching her own breast with one hand.

So close. So fucking close.

When Rhett comes, it’s hard enough that fireworks burst behind her eyes. She's pretty sure that she’s clawed some holes in the sheets. Her body convulses around Link, who refuses to let up until she goes limp.

Then Link stretches out on top of her, all limber and slow. Looking very pleased with herself.

It's several minutes before Rhett finds her voice. She lets Link murmur into the crook of her neck, breathing sweet words that float easily through Rhett’s euphoria filling her mind with a pleasant sense calm.

"It's okay, Rhett."

"Yeah?" Rhett whispers when she can speak again.

"I'm here to stay. Not gonna leave you."

"Me too." Rhett hesitates, then adds, "Always."

And a few minutes later, when Link stirs and lets her hands wander again, Rhett lets her do what she wants.

**Author's Note:**

> come yell at me on [tumblr](http://lunar-winterlude.tumblr.com)


End file.
